Going beyond the ordinary

Undertaking surveys for multiple large sites is difficult at the best of times, but combining that with the additional challenges of obtaining permission and getting the equipment into Central Africa takes it to a whole new level. On top of this we had to deal with narrow whether windows, filming in remote locations, missing baggage, different co-ordinate systems and unreliable ground survey data to produce aerial maps and elevation data for a 500 hectare site that we managed to complete in six hours (excluding post production time).

The resulting data outputs were accurate to +/- 30cm and enabled accurate overlays of existing site data to provide both 3D and 2D information for site planning by a US based planning firm.

Elevation and orthomosaic models of the site

drone mapping

The image below represents a fusion of both local survey data and drone derived contours and orthomosaic imagery, The 3D geometry obtained from photogrammetry and GPS co-ordinates is able to be converted into contours and elevation models as well as point cloud and GIS data for third party applications such as AutoCAD Civil 3D and Rhinocerous for 3D modelling and terrain analysis.